Yardley CC tops Team Championship Qualifier at Whitford

  EXTON, Pa. – Yardley CC can formally avenge its self-proclaimed rough run in this year’s Golf Association of Philadelphia Team Matches as it will now vie for the Team Championship title next month.

  The team of Jack Anderson, PJ Bartholomew, Paul Dansbury, Pierce Dever, Allen Padovano and Paul Rogowicz, led Tuesday’s Team Championship Qualifier at Whitford CC (par 72, 6,658 yards) with a sturdy 12-over 300 total. This marks Yardley’s 16th appearance in the Team Championship. It holds six titles overall, four of which the club won in the past decade. Yardley’s last victory came in 2007 when it edged Commonwealth National GC, Overbrook GC and Tavistock CC.

P. Chet Walsh of Philadelphia CC blasts out of the greenside bunker on No. 12 (par 5, 500 yards). Walsh carded a 1-under-par 71 , the day's only subpar round.

  Also advancing to the Championship proper were Philadelphia CC (304), Overbrook GC (306) and Mercer Oaks GC (307).

  Team scores were calculated using the low four of six individual scores from each team.

  For Yardley, Padovano, 56, carded an even-par 72 to anchor the team’s play.

  “I hit it pretty good on the front. I think I missed one green,” he said. “I drove it well. The greens were difficult to read. This was my first time playing the course, which kind of helps I think. If you just see what’s in front of you and go at it, then you score well. I usually play courses for the first time pretty well – no anticipation.”

  Padovano, who began his round on the back nine, executed six consecutive pars before finding his first red figure on the monstrous par, 5, 559-yard 16th hole. His approach 9-iron stopped 15-feet from the flagstick, but Padovano rolled in the ensuing birdie try to start his voyage inward at 1-under.

  However, Padovano, of Yardley, Pa., three-putted for double bogey on No. 1 (par 4, 376 yards) after his 9-iron from 140 yards out caught the greenside bunker.

  “I hit a sand shot, and it grabbed the fabric in the bunker and pulled a staple out. I skulled it over the green,” he said.

  Padovano also carded birdies on three of his final four holes. On No. 6 (par 4, 399 yards), he pierced his approach sand wedge 85 yards and rolled in a straight-away 35-footer for birdie. From 195 yards out on No. 7 (par 4, 383 yards), he knocked his 3-iron to 12-feet and posted his second consecutive red figure. Padovono’s chip shot from the front of the No. 8 (par 4, 402 yards) green sailed 12-feet past the cup, and he missed the comebacker for par. He did seal blue on the scorecard, however, on No. 9 (par 5, 496 yards). Padovano drained a 15-footer for birdie after drilling his sand wedge 85 yards.

  Ultimately, Padovano achieved his goal for the day: to put together a solid score for his Yardley squad.

  “I’m probably one of the weakest guys out here for them,” he said, noting that Yardley’s younger players are longer off the tee. “We had our club championship this past weekend and I played pretty well. My game is starting to come around.”

  P. Chet Walsh of Philadelphia CC carded a 1-under-par 71, the day’s only sub-par round.

  “I had low expectations because my last competitive round was that 87 in the Philadelphia Mid.-Am.,” he said. “I haven’t exactly felt good about my game this spring, so I made an adjustment Friday. I was hitting a lot more solid shots. I made a change in my putting stroke. I rolled the ball better and made putts, and when I did miss, every one caught a piece of the hole.”

  Walsh, of Wayne, Pa., constructed his confidence with a birdie on No. 1 (par 4, 376 yards). He nearly holed his pitching wedge from 125 yards out.

  “That was a nice way to get the day started,” he said.

  After a bogey on No. 3 (par 4, 431 yards), Walsh, 45, pierced his 9-iron 145 yards and drained a 30-footer to return to the red.

  “It was kind of up-the-hill, down-the-hill, and I was just trying to cozy it close and it fell in, so I was thrilled,” he said.

  Walsh began his inward tour by firing a birdie on No. 10 (par 4, 383 yards). After his drive found the right-side rough, he choked down on a pitching wedge and struck it 100 yards. It landed 10 yards short, but bounced up to within a foot.

  “I judged the bounce properly,” he said.

  Walsh’s round ended the same way it began. After watching tee-mate Robert Galbreath, Jr. of Huntingdon Valley CC hole-out for eagle with an approach wedge on No. 18 (par 4, 393 yards), Walsh drilled his pitching wedge 100 yards and sunk a nine-footer for birdie.

  “I had some positive reinforcement. We had the same exact yardage” Walsh said. “Once I saw that, I knew the ball was going to jump.”

  Philadelphia CC will now make its eighth appearance in the Team Championship. It finished fourth in 2005.

  “This is great. It’s the best day in the GAP of the year,” Walsh said. “Every guy gets the potential to play, and it’s so much fun. It’s a long day, but everybody enjoys it. Our GAP Team Matches were a disaster this year, so this is nice. If we have everybody there, we have a team that can compete.”

  The Team Championship final will consist of eight-man teams playing an alternate shot format in the morning, with singles matches in the afternoon. It will take place at Stonewall on July 1.